Northern Powergrid, the company which delivers electricity to 3.9 million homes and businesses across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire, is offering local groups the chance to secure funding to kick-start and deliver their own community projects.
The electricity distribution company is offering grants from £1,000 to £10,000, as part of the Northern Powergrid Partnering Communities Fund.
The fund, which has been expanded this year, will support wider projects looking at alleviating fuel poverty, energy efficiency, energy education and promoting support for vulnerable customers in addition to offering support to community energy projects at their inception stage.
Now in its fourth year, the fund was established by the electricity distribution company as part of its commitment to supporting and working with local communities to deliver affordable and sustainable energy solutions.
Managed in partnership with Community Foundation Tyne and Wear and Northumberland, the fund aims to encourage innovative smaller projects by community groups interested in reducing and managing their energy use or tackling community and social issues like fuel poverty, education and sustainability in rural communities.
The fund is open until 31 January for applications from community groups within Northern Powergrid’s operating area across the North East.
Anne-Claire Leydier, Northern Powergrid’s Sustainability Manager, said: “The extension of our annual fund to include funding projects that support our wider social responsibility commitments, as well as Community Energy, is great news for community groups across the region. We’re interested in initiatives that can demonstrate the wider environmental, social and economic benefits in the communities we serve, empower community groups, and extend the outreach of our social goals. We’re also hoping to build some exciting new partnerships with a range of groups.”
Twenty-seven groups have already benefited from the fund in recent years and Northern Powergrid has shared project case studies to help support other groups and researchers. The electricity distributor also plans to share more project outcome case studies in the spring.
Visit http://www.communityfoundation.org.uk/apply-groups for details of how to apply in advance of the 31 January 2018 deadline. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Community Energy Hub (www.hub.communityenergyengland.org) for useful information about community energy which may help when developing their application. Northern Powergrid will announce which groups have been successful in securing funding in April 2018.
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